Kroll Ontrack opens data recovery portal to partners

'Self-service' data recovery portal gets wider launch.

Data recovery specialist Kroll Ontrack has announced an automated online data recovery portal for its Australian partners.

The Ontrack online partner portal, which originally launched with partner Geeks2U in May, is now available to all Kroll Ontrack channel partners, the company said.

Designed to streamline the data recovery process, the portal gives partners and customers the ability to register, manage and complete projects securely via a centralised online portal with a single user interface.

"It's basically a mechanism for [our partners] to self-manage their data recovery jobs," said Adrian Briscoe, Kroll Ontrack's general manager for APAC. "They can put their details into the portal, send in the job and then watch the progress of the recovery go through our lab and get to the stage where they quote the customers for recovery."

The new portal allows registered partners to initiate a recovery independently, expediting the process for end customers. Users can also view, search and filter projects in fine detail, allowing them to validate what files can be recovered prior to proceeding and paying for the data recovery.

The portal also grants partners access to assistive services including FAQs, video tutorials, training documents and direct access to a client services representative or project manager.

"We try very hard to educate our resellers how to go about data recovery," Briscoe said. "They need to make sure they don't start making lots of changes to the original media, because you only really have one good go at data recovery.

"With [the partner portal], partners can learn about how to deal with data loss scenarios and clients who have come to them with a data recovery situation."

Briscoe said data recovery was a pressing issue for all companies and one which was creating opportunities for resellers to increase their services revenues.

"Data recovery is a service that is certainly needed because the majority of documents created these days only exist in an electronic format," said Briscoe.

"As backup technologies change, companies become a little bit more exposed with the amount of electronic data they are holding each year. They need people to help them recover or convert that legacy data. This is how a lot of companies are pushing into the service sector."

Briscoe said that three "large" partners were currently using the partner portal in Australia, but declined to disclose further information.

"The portal was originally kicked off for Geek Squad and Best Buy in the US," said Briscoe. "We've now taken it on a global basis and we have a couple of large resellers who work alongside us; Geeks2U being one of them.

"We're always making improvements to the portal," said Briscoe. "As time goes by we'll add new features to it that will improve the experience for the partner."